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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

Texas or Bust

Connor and his friend Korinn taking shelter from the rain (yes, finally rain!!).

The sign Caleb was clutching on our driveway.

Have you ever had one of those days where you counted the hours...minutes...seconds until bedtime? Today was one of those days. I began yearning for bedtime just about the time Caleb arrived home from school. He was in a funk, a mood, a tizzy. His prickly disposition gradually soured the rest of us until we all felt a little wretched.

Finally, I had to intervene. Consequences were delivered. Tears were shed. We parted ways: I to fold laundry, Caleb to sulk in his room. While sorting and folding, I took a few deep breaths, uttered a few prayers and decided to start afresh with our afternoon. A few minutes later, I exited my room and rapped softly on Caleb's door. No response. I peeked into his room and discovered Caleb was nowhere to be seen. I jogged down the stairs, and found the front door open. Caleb was standing at the base of our driveway clutching a homemade sign. Quickly, I raced to Caleb.

I questioned, "Caleb, what are you doing?"

He stood stone-faced and motioned towards his homemade sign with the words, "Texas or Bust" scribbled across the front.

At that moment, I teetered between wanting to wring his neck and erupt into laughter. I held it together and responded, "Caleb, if you're going to Texas, we need to pack."

My response shocked him and he begrudgingly followed me into the house. Once inside he seemed to calm down and agree to remain a Hoosier for at least another day.